Once the category has been chosen, control methods are easier to choose.
If you have already correctly identified your fly, go to our Fly
Index for more information on the fly. If you already know the breeding/feeding
material of your flying pest (dead animals, soil, manure, rotting fruits, etc.) but cannot
identify they fly, go to Fly Breeding Sites. For more general
information about flies, go to Flies, Order Diptera.

This order has over 86,000 known, with about 16, 300 found in North
America. Prevalent in all habitats, flies are easily distinguished from other
insects because they have only 1 pair of normal wings. The second pair is
represented by 2 knobbed organs called halteres. The halteres are thought to be
organs which help stabilize the insect while in flight. Many flies have a membranous
lobe at the base of each wing overlying the haltere.

Most flies have large compound eyes
and mouthparts that are modified for piercing, lapping or sucking fluids. The
antennae range from short, 3-segmented organs to long, thread-like structures. The
fly's antennae are feathery in midges and mosquitoes, clubbed in mydas flies.

Flies exhibit complete metamorphosis: egg, larvae (maggot), pupa and adult. The
larvae of most species are soft, legless and headless. These maggots live in soil,
decaying material or as parasites of vertebrates, snails or other insects. The
aquatic, mobile larvae of mosquitoes, midges and certain other groups are more slender and
have an easily recognizable head. For the purpose of pest control, the flies most
encountered by homes and businesses are broken down into three categories: small
flies, filth flies and biting flies. The larvae of these pests can be found in many
breeding sites: aquatic areas, seaweed, decaying grass and compost piles, earthworms,
manure, dead animals, cadavers, garbage, damp organic matter in all stages of
decomposition, sewers, soil contaminated by sewage, potting soil, cheeses, meats, drains,
rotting vegetables and fruits, fresh fruits, wet soil and sump pumps.

Some blood-sucking flies are carriers of diseases such as malaria and yellow fever.
Other flies carry bacteria that cause typhoid and dysentery. The beneficial
aspects of flies include breaking down carcasses to pollinating flowers. There are
many insect pest populations which are kept in check by flies while the flies are a
primary source of food for certain wildlife.